The Second Time Around….and a DE Ruling on Average Weekly Wage and Incarceration

Love is lovelier, the second time aroundJust as wonderful, with both feet on the groundIt's that second time you hear your love song sungMakes you think perhaps that love, like youth, is wasted on the young[Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+sinatra/second+time+around+the_10122399.html]Loves more comfortable the second time you fallLike a friendly home the second time you callWho can say, what brought us to this miracle we've foundThere are those who'd betLove comes but once - and yetI'm oh so glad we metThe second time around

Today is my 9th wedding anniversary. And like the Sinatra song says, it really is better for this girl the second time around. So if you are reading this, Tom, happy anniversary!

Now, turning to something as mundane as the law. An anniversary gift from Walt Schmittinger. As fond as I am of flowers, chocolates and let's not forget jewelry, if you want to win my heart send me something for my blog. So let's hear from Walt:

"Cassandra - attached is a decision in Ronald Rogers v. Perdue, in which the Board decided whether a (non-holiday) bonus should be included in an AWW calculation when the claimant received the bonus only one time. The Board included the bonus in the wage calculation, despite the fact that the claimant had only received one payment during his employment and the employer had only paid the bonus in two of the last seven years.

"Also attached is a separate decision (in the same case) on the other issue decided that day, which concerned incarceration and suspension of benefits. No dispute that he had a 30-day sentence after pleading guilty to a violation of parole and that comp should be suspended for that period; the issue was the period before the guilty plea on the parole violation during which he remained incarcerated due to inability to make bail, and a second period following the 30-day sentence during which he remained in jail for want of bail pending the underlying criminal charges on which the parole violation was based. The Board suspended his benefits for the first period but did not for the second.

"Both decisions are pending a Motion for Re-argument on the Board's failure to award attorneys' fees, but I intend to appeal the incarceration/suspension decision once it is final."

I thought it was kind of funny that money and a lack of liberty were the topics of the anniversary post. The decision about inclusion of a non-regular bonus in the average weekly wage calculation is Ronald Rogers v. Perdue Farms, IAB#1365241 (9/7/12)(ORDER). The decision regarding the forfeiture issue under 19 Del. Code Section 2353(d) is Ronald Rogers v. Perdue Farms, IAB# 1365241 (9/7/12)(ORDER). Although the cites are the same, these are two separate decisions, the bonus issue being somewhat novel and the forfeiture issue being factually quirky.